John Carroll University Team Earns First Place in Business Concept Competition
Forty students from ten Northeast Ohio colleges and universities converged upon the John Carroll University campus this summer to compete in the 12th annual Entrepreneurship Immersion Week Competition. Entrepreneurship Immersion Week (EIW) is an intensive one-week, academic immersion experience for undergraduates from all disciplines to immerse themselves in the skills needed to help them develop new business concepts and apply these skills in a team-based business concept competition.
The John Carroll University team took first place for No-Skeeto, an odorless, pesticide-free and electric-free method to keep mosquitos away. The University of Mount Union team earned second place for Sole Armor, a wearable and washable medical device to prevent injury for sufferers of peripheral neuropathy, and students from Ashland University took third place for See Me Play, a live video streaming platform focused on sports. The teams won $2,500, $1,500, and $1,000 respectively.
“For one week, students are connected to mentors, experts, peers, and an outstanding curriculum. All these things coming together is rare, not a typical thing,” commented Victoria Avi, President of the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium. “I am proud that Entrepreneurship Immersion Week offers students a way for a successful future whether they become entrepreneurs or innovate within a larger company.”
The competition is open to undergraduate students of any major from institutions that belong to the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium (EEC), which was founded to promote entrepreneurship among college students of all disciplines. EEC partner colleges and universities include Ashland University, Baldwin Wallace University, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University, Lorain County Community College, The University of Akron, and The University of Mount Union. EEC partners take turns hosting the competition.
Entrepreneurship Immersion Week has provided hands-on entrepreneurship experience to more than 500 students over the past ten years. Past program participants include Fresh Fork Market, DecisionDesk (formerly CitizenGroove), and Bundle Media.